REVIEW | FIFE N' DEKEL (WEST) | EDMONTON

Looking for a quick and easy lunch? Forget fast food burgers and fries. It's all about the homemade sandwiches and pies!

Fife N' Dekel has a long history in Edmonton, having been open since the 80s. They've since expanded to four stores across the city. All locations are tucked into commercial strip malls and/or industrial areas, making it a popular lunch spot for those working closeby.

The west-end location is located just off of 170th street, in between a variety of different businesses. The shop operates just like a cafeteria, complete with a counter and a line. We went on a Monday, shortly after 1:00 and still found it pretty busy. I can't imagine the line-up right at noon.

As you make your way through, you'll find drinks to your left before arriving in front of the sandwich station. The ladies behind the counter are fast and efficient, and quickly shuffle you through. (*Cue memories of all elementary, junior high, and high school lunch ladies.*) You can pick up soups and salads along the way, as well as their famous pies. Before you pay, they'll wrap and paper-bag everything up if you plan to take it to-go. If you're eating in, you have plenty of choice for seating as there's even a second-story alcove with more tables.

Fife N' Dekel's sandwich menu consists of 11varieties, including one special that changes everyday. Monday featured turkey with cranberry ($6.95).

Similar to a cafeteria assembly line, sandwiches are made to order, and customized to your heart's content. First, you have your choice of breads: white, wheat, multi-grain, rye, or sunflower, which is specially baked in-store. Then your spreads: butter, mayo, and/or mustard. An array of veggies: tomato, lettuce, sprouts, cucumbers, pickles, peppers, and/or onions. And finally, want to add cheese for $0.90 extra? Cheddar or havarti.

For my sandwich, I chose their sunflower bread, with butter, mayo, lettuce, sprouts, and havarti cheese. A couple slices of oven-roasted turkey later, the sandwich is finished off with a generous slathering of cranberry sauce (cranberry salsa also available).

Definitely a hearty sandwich; even half was enough to fill me up. Their sunflower bread was dense but still fluffy. It was also studded with sunflower seeds which lent a nutty flavour and texture. I found the turkey slices to be a bit dry, but the cranberry helped a lot to rectify that problem.

Granted you can make a similar sandwich at home, but doesn't food taste better when it's prepared by someone else?

No visit to Fife N' Dekel is complete without getting some pie! ... No, really. It would be a waste of a trip.

This was LT's first time trying a Fife N' Dekel pie, and it's safe to say that she's now a convert. She laid claim to one of the classics, an apple pie slice ($3.65). The apple filling was soft and tender, but definitely not mushy. It was nicely spiced with cinnamon, and had an even extra dusting on top. The crust is definitely the best part about their pies -- crisp, flaky, and perfectly crumbly.

I decided to branch out and try their sour cream blueberry pie ($3.75) which came with a crumb topping. The crust was still on point, but I wasn't a huge fan of the filling. Not enough blueberries, and the sour cream custard was a bit too rich and gelatinous. I think I'll stick to the apple pie next time.